Bobbin support for weft replenishing looms



July 25, 1944.

R. G. TURNER BOBBIN SUPPORT FOR WEFT REPLENISHINCT LOOMS Filed March 8, 1945 ,UNITED STAT-EES PATE-NT." io-.FFICE n u "7,2,35438'5l i' f' I l-'oINSUPPORT Foa WEFT 'l y REPLENISHINGLOOMS y Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass.,`fayssrirgnorto Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass'a. corporation of Massachusetts v Application March 8, 1943, Serial No. 478,328 s claims.; (ci. raaf- 2,475k 1 This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide yieldable bobbin supports so constructed as to prevent breakage orl 'abrasion of the weft end extending from the bobbin being transferred. f

Weft replenishing looms operate with a group of'reserve. bobbins transferred' one by one into the depleted shuttle. vIn-.order that the shuttle may be threaded it is necessary to hold theweft end of the incoming bobbinuduring the flight of the-shuttle subsequent .to replenishment. This weft endcustomarily leads-from the bobbin over and along vyielding bobbin supports to a thread holder and at the timefof transferthere'is danger that this weft end will be pinched or broken l as it is forced downwardlybetween `the bobbin tip and the bobbin support.

It is an important object of ymypresent'invention to provide the bobbin support with a roller positioned for engagementwith the bobbin tip and `mounted toturn during downward movement of the bobbinv during transfer for vthe purpose of preventing the bobbin support from rubbing or abrading the weft end. 1,. As bobbins fawait transfer in the magazine they have a tendency to' -turn on their aXes vdue to loom vibration. "When a'lpneu'matic thread holder suchas shown in my prior APatent No. 2,262,308 is used, the weftends are likely to be drawn by pneumatic attraction into a notch defined by the bobbin tip andthe yielding support with likelihood that the end will loev dragged along the thread holder and injured. It is a further object of my present invention to pro` vide a yielding bobbin support with ay roller or the like to engage the bobbin tip and turn as the bobbin turns to avoid damage to the thread in the notch. n

With these andl other objects iin view which will appear as 'thexdescr'iption p'roceedsgmyinvention resides in the vcombination and arrangement of partsv hereinafter described and set forth. 1

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodimentoff my invention is set forth,

Fig. '1 is a front elevationfofwa weft bobbin magazine and thread holder'of a type with which my invention can be usedz- Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking fromvthe center of thev magazine toward the thread yholder.' and lshowing my invention appliedtothe bobbi'ntip supports, with. the magazine .inipositionto ltransfer from thei- 'front or right hand "stack'loffbobbins,

` Fig. 3 '.isa view similar to the lower end ofv ybut showing the lowest bobbin inthe left hand or'rearstack moving downwardly during transfer, andA f p I' Fig. 5 isa detailed plan view looking in the direction of arrow 5, Figure 3.

Referring rto the drawing, the magazine M is `shown in Fig.v 1 as provided with inner and outer plates Illk and II, respectively,.between which extend two stacks of Ireserve .bobbins B, the front and back stacks being designated generally at F and R; ('The butt ends I2 of the bobbins are y'guided 'in grooves I3 formed in the inner plate I0, while the outerplate has grooves I4 to guide the tips I5' of the bobbins in the front and rear stacks, respectively. Y

The outer-plate |I- is provided with a stud 20 on whichare pivoted` front and back bobbin tip supports 2| and 22, respectively. Support 22 has an extension 23 carrying an adjustable stop screw '24 positioned yfor engagement with a lug 25which may be formed integral with the outside'platell. A compression spring 26 is located lbetween the two lsupports 2| and 22 and actsnormally to hold them apart. An extenn sion 21` of the lug 25 engages the front support 2| to limit forward movement thereof under action of the spring 28, and the latter normally holds kthestop screw against the lug. Each support is capable of movementtoward the'other when a bobbin is transferred. .from the corresponding stack. The support 2| positions the lowest bobbin in the front fstack F lfor transfer, while thev `back support. 22 performs a similar function for the -lowestabobbin in the rear stacky R.

`,Secured on the inside of the outer plate is a forward guide wire30which is inclined downwardly andaway from plate I las shown in Fig. 1,

and around whichextend theA weft ends W of y the front stack .ofbobbins A'second wire 3| is also secured on the inside of the outer plate I I and passes downwardly between the two stacks of bobbinsl and has a curved lower end 33 as shownin Fig. 2. The-weft ends W of the rear stackextend from theconical parts o'f the rear bobbins varound the wire 3| and then outwardly toward a thread-holder Hwhich may operate pneumatically to Ltensionthe-Weft ends and be l' constructedxas in my prior kPatent 1\To.\2,199,353.

Except as noted hereinafter the mechanism thus far described is constructed and operated in the usual manner as set forth in the aforesaid patents. The magazine is mounted to rock about the pivot so that the lowest bobbin in either the front or the back stack can be in transferring position with respect to the shuttle S. As shown in Fig. 2 the front stack is positioned for transfer but it is to be understood that the magazine can move angularly in a left hand direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to place theV lowest bobbin in the rear stack in transfer position. The transferrer arm T descends in the usual manner to move the bobbin under it into the shuttle S, at which time the weft end of the bobbin being transferred descends with the lati ter while remaining attached to the thread holder H.

When ne wefts are used there isllikelihood that the weft ends W and W will be scrapedv along the bobbin support when the latter are constructed as shown in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,262,380, and it is the general purpose of my present invention to prevent this scraping by mounting rollers or the like on the supports in position for engagement with the tip of the bobbin being transferred and the weft end of the latter.

Accordingly, the support 22 is provided with ears 4B and 4l through which extend a guide pin 42 on which is mounted a roll 43 which extends beyond the outline of the support 22, as shown in Fig. 3. The latter may lbe made of any appropriate material, such as a plastic composition, and preferably has the sides thereof curved as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. located as to engage the tip of the ,lowest bobbin The rollv is so and mounting to the Aroll 43.

Ward force by the pneumatic attraction of the holder.` If, on the other hand, the thread leads from the upper part of the conical end of the weft mass on the bobbin there will be less downward force exerted on the weft end but it will nevertheless be in position to fall into the notch between the bobbin tip and the roll 43 during transfer. 'In any event, the weft end will be tensioned by the thread holder and will lie in the aforesaid notch.

The front support 2l is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 as provided with a roll 50 similar in construction This roll 50 is not positioned to engage the weft end of the lowest bobbin in thel front stack F when the magazine has the vspecific construction illustrated herein.

` Roll 5|) willturn, however, to prevent scraping vof the rbobbin tip, and this last feature is also true with respect to roll 43. Rolls are used on in the rear stack and assist in holding the latter Y in transfer position. The weft end W of the bobbin which engages the roll extends from the conical part C of its bobbin toward the center of the magazine, around one side of the wire 3| and then outwardly in front of the wire, and then along the bobbin tip to the thread holder. The latter exerts tension on the weft end and tends to draw it to the position shown in Fig. 5, that is, into the notch between the bobbin tip and the roll 43 above the point of contact vbetween the roll and the bobbin tip. If there is any rotation of the bobbin due to vibration of the loom the roll lcan rotate on its axis and may under these conditions engage the weft end but will not abrade the latter because of the fact that the bobbin and roll have rolling contact with each other and the weft end is therefore not subjected to scraping or injurious distortion.

During transfer when the magazine is in position to place the lowest bobbin in stack R in transfer position, the bobbin will move down as indicated by arrow a Fig. 4 under action of the transferrer arm T and will cause movement of the support 22 to the right as viewed in Fig. 2 against the action of spring 26. The roll will turn and the thread can therefore pass from its normally raised position downwardly between rolling surfaces as the bobbin vmoves into the shuttle S without being subject to a sliding or scraping action on the part of the bobbin tip support.

The location of the weft end of the bottom rear lbobbin will depend somewhat upon the point from which it leaves the conical part of its bobbin. If the thread leaves the under part of the cone on the bobbin it will be led upwardly around the wire 3| and thence over the lroll to the thread holder and be subjected to an appreciable downboth ofthe supports for the sake of uniformity.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided simple means for preventing abrasion of the weft thread. during transfer by providing a rolling surface on the bobbin tip support so placed that the weft end passes downwardly without being abraded. It will also ibe seen that the roll is so placed asl to lie normally under a weft end which extends from the bobbin around'the guide wire 3l and thence to the pneumatic thread holder. l i

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do notwish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l.V In a weft replenishing loom having a bobbin in transfer position provided with a mass of weft from whicha weft end extends along the tip of the bobbin to a thread holder, a support for the bobbin tip, resilient means to hold'the support toward the bobbin tip, and a roller carried Vby the support to engage the bobbin tip at a point below said weft end, the bobbin when transferred downwardly causing rotation of the roller and movement of the weft end between said roller and bobbin tip.

2. In a weft replenishing loom having a bobbin in transfer position provided with a mass of weft from which va weft end extends alongthe tip of the bobbin tip` toa thread holder, a bobbin tip support pivotally mounted with respectto the loom, resilient means urging the support toward the bobbin tip, and a roller located and mounted on the support in positionto engage the bobbin tip at a point under the weft end, said bobbin when movingv downwardly rcausing the thread to pass'between the bobbin tip and the roller and causing the latter to rotate.

3. In a weftl replenishing loom vhaving a bobbin in transfer. position provided with a mass of weft from which a weftA end extends along the tip of the 'bobbin 'toa thread holder, a bobbin tip support, resilient means urging the support toward the bobbin tip, a'roller rotatably mounted onV the support and held against the bobbin tip by said resilient' means, and means to guide the weft end along' a lpath .between the bobbin tip and the roll toward the thread holder, the bobbin upondownward motion thereof causing the weft end to pass between the tip and the roller and -causing vrotation of the latter.

4. In -a 'weft replenishing' loom 'having'` a bobbin in transfer position vprovided ywith a mass of weft from .whicha 4weft end extends along the tip of the bobbin to a thread holder, a bobhin tip support, resilient means urging the support toward said bobbin tip, a, roller located and mounted on said support and held by said resilient means engagement with the bobbin tip, the latter and the roller forming a notch, and means to guide the weft end along a path extending 'through said notch toward the thread holder, the bobbin upon downward. motion thereof causing the weft end to move downwardly between the bobbin tip and the roller and causing rotation of the latter.

5. In a weft replenisliing loom yhaving a reserve bobbin which tends to rotate on its axis and from which a weft end is drawn along the tip of the oobhin by a thread holder, a bobbin tip support, resilient means urging the bobbin support toward the tip of the bobbin, and a roller rotatably mounted on the support and held against the bobbin tip by said resilient means and defining with said'bobbin tip a notch n1 which said weft end is drawn by the thread holder, said roller turning on the axis thereof when the bobbin turns due to engagement with the latter, whereby the thread when drawn into said notch by the combined action of the thread holder and the turning of the bobbin will engage the rotation. surfaces of said bobbin tip and roller.

6. A bobbin tip support for a weft replenishing loom, said support having provision lor pivotal mounting, and a roller rotatably mounted on said support for engagement with the bobbin tip.

7. A bobbin tip support for a weft replenishing loom, said support having provision for pivotal mounting, and a roller rotatably mounted on said. support for engagement with the bobbin tip and the bobbin tip engaging surface of which extends beyond the outline of said support.

8. In a bobbin tip support for a weit replenishing loom, said support having provision for pivotal mounting, an arm forming partl of said support and carrying a stop screw, and a second arm forming a part of said support, and a bobbin tip engaging roller rotatably mounted on said second arm.

RICHARD G. TURNER. 

